reviewstash

The T-Mobile G1 helped introduce what could possibly be the most explosive handheld operating system for developers - Google's Android platform; promising OpenGL graphics, full open-source development, and high customizability. However, we have not yet seen the release of T-Mobile's fully paid Market making developers shy away from releasing high-quality applications. Handango and developer OmniG Software have decided to circumvent this by releasing games without using T-Mobile's Market application - the first being Snow Rally City Stage.

Features/Specifications:

• City racing courses featuring stunning city scene
• Rally cars with lifelike physics and dynamics simulation
• Advanced game opponent AI generates exciting racing experience
• Endless challenge with the randomly generated racing courses
• Distinct Music design customized for each rally course
OmniG's Product Page
Price $14.95 @ Handango

Installation:

As this game is "black-market" it has no registration key and after purchasing from Handango requires following a couple of steps to get the game installed, luckily included with the game's ".apk" file is an installation manual:

• Download and install the "Apps Installer" application from the Android Market
• Copy the.apk file to the memory card's root directory
• On the Android device, launch the Apps Installer, it will open a view showing all .apk files in the memory card's root directory; click the .apk file name to initiate the installation

I am happy to report that this process went very smoothly on my G1; you can also install this application the long way involving the Android SDK, but that's just asking for trouble.

Runnin' It:


The game can run in either landscape or potrait, but you have to have the keyboard slid out before running the game in landscape or else the game locks up until you switch back over. When running the game you have the choice of using either the touch screen, ball, or "JIKM"/"AWSZ". I suggest that you use a combination of the "W" key for gas and the ball for steering, if you want the most natural feel.


Upon tapping the screen or clicking in the ball you are greeted with the main menu. You are given the choice to go to options or help menus and enter the game.


There's not many options in the options menu, but I highly suggest lowering "Steering Sensitivity" to "low" (unless you want to flail around the track like I did in the video).


Once you hit "enter" you then are shown a screen allowing you to choose from three maps and a handful of neat vehicles. It would have been nice if they would have included difficulty settings, vehicle statistics (not just cosmetic), maps of each track, and a few more avaliable tracks.


Looks like OmniG beat Google to Cupcake's onscreen keyboard .


The game pits you against three other random race cars.


However, I would have to say that I am dissapointed in the UI. There is absolutely no map detailing the specifics of the race and most of the meters look absolutely blurry (reminding me of an n64 game - which isn't necessarily bad I suppose).

Verdict:

In all honesty, I'm going to have to say that you should wait for performance to be optimized or for the price on this game to come down. While very entertaining and a good show of the capabilites of OpenGL on the Android platform, it is a bit too expensive for such a simple game. However, if you absolutely love racing games, have a G1, are fed up with the (much worse) games on the Market, and love Canada, this is the game for you!

Positives:
Vehicle design is nice and varied
Plethora of options for interfacing with the game
Very excellent first attempt at 3D graphics on the Android platform (pretty nice visuals)

Neutral Ground:
Installation process is a little odd
The interface could use a little work
Sound consists of three audio files that just loop (over and over again)

Negatives:
Handling is very clumsy
Can get laggy
Maps are repetitive with little variation
Price is much too high for what is essentially a tech demo ($4.95 and you've got a winner)

Thanks go to OmniG for supplying us with this neat game!